The Postal Service has not paid too much for retirement benefits for employees under the Civil Service Retirement System. A report by the Government Accountability Office throws a wrench in the Postal Service's plan to return to profitability by accessing more than $50 billion now held for retirement benefits.

Host Mike Causey is joined on today's show by Susan R. Johnson, president of the American Foreign Service Association, and Federal Times senior staff writers, Stephen Losey and Sean Reilly.
October 5, 2011

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said he wants to give the struggling Postal Service more flexibility to act like a private business, including the ability to force retirement-eligible employees to step down. Meanwhile, the Postal Regulatory Commission worries the Postal Service is losing sight of its public mission.

The Postal Service would get seven more weeks to pay a $5.5 billion debt to the Treasury under the continuing resolution passed Monday by the Senate. A House version includes the same provision. The bill is due on Friday.

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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has introduced legislation in the Senate to overhaul the struggling Postal Service. It mirrors the GOP plan approved by a House subcommittee Wednesday. It would let an independent watchdog to seize control of the agency's finances if it were more than 30 days late in paying its bills.

A House subcommittee markup of a bill to address the Postal Service's financial problems broke down along partisan lines. Democrats accused Republicans of using this legislation to weaken labor provisions. Republicans said Democrats would prefer bailing out the agency rather than making it sustainable. The bill now goes to the full House Oversight and Governmental Reforms Committee.

Federal Times Editor Steve Watkins and senior writer Sean Reilly will talk about the future of the U.S. postal service, and NARFE legislative director Daniel Adcock will discuss the changes that Congress wants to make to your retirement benefits.
September 21, 2011

A House subcommittee will markup legislation Wednesday to address the Postal Service's financial problems. President Obama unveiled his reform proposal earlier this week. Postal Service officials say, if enacted, it would give them the breathing room they need to make major network changes.

If you are looking for good news you've come to the wrong place, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. It seems that while Congress and the White House say that creating jobs is the nation's top priority, the second largest federal agency hopes to shed a third of its workforce and 70,000 federal contractors were sent on unpaid furloughs this year.

If the Postal Service were a business, it would be facing the equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. USPS lost $20 billion in last five years, and it is on track to lose more than $6 billion this year. GAO evaluates the state of the Postal Service and what needs to be done in the short-term by Congress.